Meaning: The quote "Capital is dead labor, which, vampire-like, lives only by sucking living labor, and lives the more, the more labor it sucks" is a powerful and evocative statement made by Karl Marx, a renowned philosopher, economist, and sociologist. This quote encapsulates Marx's critique of capitalism and highlights his belief that the capitalist system exploits and extracts value from the labor of workers.

Marx's use of the term "dead labor" refers to the concept of accumulated wealth or capital, such as machinery, infrastructure, and other means of production. This "dead labor" represents the investments made by capitalists in order to generate profits. However, Marx argues that this capital only has value because of the living labor that is employed to operate and utilize it. In this sense, the capital itself does not produce value; rather, it is the labor of workers that breathes life into the capital and creates value.

The comparison of capital to a vampire is particularly striking and serves as a metaphor for the way in which Marx views the relationship between capital and labor. Vampires are creatures that sustain themselves by draining the life force of others, and Marx employs this imagery to suggest that capital sustains itself by exploiting the labor of workers. The more labor that is extracted, the more the capital thrives, akin to the way a vampire becomes stronger the more it feeds.

Marx's use of vivid language and imagery in this quote serves to underscore his fundamental critique of capitalism as a system that perpetuates exploitation and alienation. He argues that under capitalism, the value created by the labor of workers is siphoned off by the owners of capital, leading to inequality and the perpetuation of a system in which the rich get richer at the expense of the working class.

Furthermore, the quote encapsulates Marx's labor theory of value, which posits that the value of a commodity is derived from the amount of socially necessary labor time required for its production. In this framework, the labor of workers is the source of all value, and any surplus value created by their labor is appropriated by capitalists, leading to the accumulation of wealth in the hands of the few at the expense of the many.

In summary, Karl Marx's quote "Capital is dead labor, which, vampire-like, lives only by sucking living labor, and lives the more, the more labor it sucks" is a potent expression of his critical perspective on capitalism. It vividly illustrates his belief in the exploitative nature of the capitalist system, wherein capital accumulates and sustains itself through the extraction of value from the labor of workers. This quote continues to resonate and provoke contemplation on the dynamics of power, labor, and capital in contemporary society.